James Martin Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes

MALTED VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• To make the ice cream base: Stir the gelatin into 1/2 cup of cold water in a small bowl; Set the mixture aside (this will bloom into a semi-solid state).
• Heat 2 cups of the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When the milk begins to steam remove it from the heat. And stir in the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
• Put the malted milk powder into a blender. Add 2 cups of the cold milk. Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides with a spatula. (If there's no blender handy, just beat the malted milk well into the milk until there are no lumps).
• Pour the malted milk mixture into the ice cream maker. Add the heavy cream and stir. Stirring constantly, mix in the hot milk and gelatin mixture. Add the remaining milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• To freeze the ice cream: Assemble the dasher, position the can lid, put the can in the tub and secure the crank assembly. Turn the crank to make sure everything is put together correctly.
• Find the little hole in the side of the tub near the top of the can. Make sure that the hole is open. Drop about 2 cups of crushed ice into the tub. Sprinkle the ice with 1/2 cup rock salt, evenly covering it. Repeat this process. Now someone should begin turning the crank, which remain in motion until the ice cream is frozen.
• Continue to add ice and salt in the proportion above until you have reached the top level of the can and continue cranking. In about 20 minutes the crank will become very difficult to turn. This indicates that the ice cream is done.
• Remove the crank assembly. Pull the can up a bit in the tub. Wipe the ice and salt from the lid and the top of the can. Remove the lid. Pull up the dasher and scrape it off with a rubber spatula. Most people dig in right at this point and enjoy the ice cream even though it is still a little soft. Others like to remove the can and put it in a freezer (or put the ice cream into smaller containers) and harden the ice cream for a few hours before eating.

ULTIMATE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils - you'll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn't boil - as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn't curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don't take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it's light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine cream and sugar. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. With a sharp knife, scrape seeds into pan; add bean. Heat cream mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. , In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly., Cook over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and temperature reaches 160°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Immediately transfer to a bowl. , Place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally for 2 minutes; discard vanilla bean. Press waxed paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze for 4-6 hours or until firm. Repeat with remaining mixture.